Last week a French family, consisting of a mother and two sons, arrived.

When asked if they had any dutiable articles, they declared that they had brought nothing with them that ought to pay duty.  As they had twenty pieces of baggage with them, the officials refused to believe that they had nothing on which duty should be levied.

The two sons were very elegant and extremely polite French gentlemen.  They courteously handed their keys to the inspectors, and turned around to converse with some equally elegant young ladies who had come to meet their party.

Their pleasant conversation was roughly interrupted by the inspectors.

Only six of the twenty pieces of baggage were trunks; the rest proved to be packing-cases.

“They’ve got to be opened,” said the heated inspectors.

“Certainly.  You have our permission to open them,” said the polite young Frenchmen.

“What!” roared the inspectors, “Open them!  We are not carpenters!  Open them yourselves!”

There and then these well-dressed, well-mannered young men had to set to work to pry open their own packing-cases.

By this time their suavity had so exasperated the officials, who are not accustomed to politeness and pleasant words from incoming passengers, that they decided that the young Frenchmen must have a reason for their good manners, and be in fact dangerous smugglers.

As one of the young men bent over a packing-case it was noticed that his coat-pockets bulged suspiciously.  Before he could offer a protest he and his mother and brother were hurried away to the offices and searched.

In spite of their best endeavors the inspectors were unable to find anything dutiable in the belongings of this charming family, and finally the young Frenchmen were permitted to go on their way with their mother and their belongings.  It would have been a little interesting to have obtained from them their first impressions of America.

The officials were, however, so angry that these good people had not turned out to be smugglers, that they gave the next few passengers who fell into their hands a very unhappy time.

One man who had bought a two-dollar doll for his little girl was obliged to pay $1.50 as duty on it.  Another who had spent $200 on new gowns for his wife had to pay another $126 before he was able to take them to her.

One father was loud in his protests because he was taxed for the dresses his daughters were wearing, and which he declared had been used by them for a year and a half.

Nobody escaped on that unlucky day, and from eighty passengers about $5,000 was collected.  If this keeps up, our treasury will soon be overflowing.

So annoying has the Dingley Bill made matters for travellers that a consultation has been held by the customs officials, to see whether it is not possible to make things a little easier for them.